Angeles versus Pattaya April 2006

[robaus]

I?ve just returned from 12 nights in Angeles to avoid the Songkran mayhem in Pattaya, where I live. Here?s a spot of comparative research, all IMHO and YMMV. Last week I was getting 1.3 pesos to 1 Thai baht. I?m thinking in terms of average/standard prices ? you can pay much more or much less in both Pattaya and Angeles for all services.

 

ANGELES

 

Likes

Most of the girls speak English, so the GFE is easier

More girls on stage. I counted 32 girls coming off stage after their 20 minute stint and 26 replacements coming on stage at Lancelot one night. (I suppose the owners can afford it with lower wages at 130 pesos (100b/night)

Girls have beautiful mellifluous names: Rosalita, Jocelyn, Marigold, Mirabelle (seems sort of more romantic than Lek, Nit, Porn)

I loved the line dancing ? 30 arses all turning in unison for comparative examination.

Girls seemed to be enjoying themselves more, especially at Camelot ? loved the graphic miming to the chorus ?You and me babe ain?t nothing but mammals, so let?s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel?

Bars open later till 3-5 am. Dollhouse claims it?s open 24 hrs.

Many bars let you take photos of the girls onstage (ask mamasan though!) since the girls don?t show. Dollhouse had a special weekly photo shoot night where they actively encouraged it

When you call a girl down for a LD, she stays with you (till the drink runs dry!) - no ?I go dance now? scam that you sometimes get in Pattaya just as soon as you?ve bought a LD.

No toilet tipping or woofter attendants trying to massage your back while you?re pissing (noticed one at Brown Sugar ? hope the practice doesn?t catch on - btw nothing against Brown Sugar ? great bar with a very genial manager Dave )

Toilets seemed cleaner (maybe newer gogos?)

Good music IMHO ? less technocrap car alarm stuff.

Girls seemed to kiss more, but ?smoked? less ? in my very limited survey! Whereas in Pattaya they?ll willingly suck your dick for 15 minutes, but are reluctant to give you more than a peck on the cheek.

Very few tattooed girls (even then just a small butterfly etc) ? why some Thai girls disfigure their beautiful silky smooth skin with huge tattoos like ?I love Sven? is beyond me?. must be all those memorable encounters with Alholk! :-)

Bottled beer cheaper (85p= 65 baht), but then again I drink mainly draft in Pattaya gogos at 50 baht. I?m told last year it was 65p and barfine only 1000p (now 1200-1300p) - hope the trend doesn?t continue or Angeles may become more expensive than Pattaya.

Not so many stalls cluttering up the pavements.

V compact entertainment area. You can walk to all the bars.

 

Dislikes

Girls seemed a bit chubbier than Thais (that?s a gross generalisation ? there were many stunners too!). But there seemed to be ?fewer? stretch marked girls than in Pattaya??

Girls not showing ? and why the ?double? knickers plus panty liners ? can?t even see the camels? foot pussy imprint.

Cherry Girls! I?d say 10-20% on stage were virgins who want anything from 20k pesos to 300k!! to lose their cherry. I don?t begrudge them their virginity, but why work in a gogo bar if you don?t root? They?re taking away income from the other willing girls onstage ? wasting my time and theirs. Before I cottoned on, I paid 3 LDs for a very friendly girl, then when I went to bf her, she whispered ?I have secret ? I Cherry Girl?. Thereafter, I had to resort to the very clinical preamble ?Are you a cherry girl? Are you menstruating?? They have V for virgin on their ID cards, but I can?t see that far.

LDs more expensive (approx 115 baht vs Pattaya average 85-95). Watch out for the ?double? LD scam at Dollhouse 250 peso ? never bought another LD there after that ? v silly management policy.

Many of the stages are in a pit, so unless you sit at the stage you can?t see the girls? legs. Mind you when you do sit at the stage your eyes are just about at pussy level! :hubba:

Paying barfine+girls fee up front. Not sure about this one ? maybe it?s a plus. It can be cheaper at 1200p = 923b all up and don?t give the girl a tip if she turns out to be a starfish ST runner instead of LT. I tipped an extra 500p if the service was good. (Pattaya bf 500+ 1000/1500 for girl)

Girls seemed to wait to be ?called down? rather than interacting with the punters to attract their attention. (In Pattaya many of the girls choose ?you? from the stage ? if she?s enthusiastic in the bar, she?s good in the bedroom? usually?). But that could be my own kin niow fault ? my 74 yr old Pattaya mate (with a portfolio of 435 naked beauties ? I don?t think the Queen will be sending him a telegram when he reaches 500!) would have no trouble at all attracting the stunners when he wears his special aftershave ?Eau de 100 baht note stuffed down their knickers?.

Service girls and mamasans seemed pushier on buying LDs

Hotels and restaurants in Pattaya much much better value for money, and more choice - Angeles definitely needs more competition. Watch out for the +12% VAT on food and accom, and the +7% for credit card transactions at hotels and moneychangers.

No bidet arse squirters ? toilet paper only. I suffered itchy arse syndrome again as I do in farangland. How I missed the Thai hygienic and ?strangely pleasurable? squirt up the jacksy.

Angeles seemed grubbier and more dangerous than Pattaya (probably because the people are poorer). Sure, nasty things happen to farangs in both cities. But there was a more violent ambience about Angeles with signs at the gogo doors ?No firearms?, shotgun wielding guards at the supermarkets, warnings in hotel room ?Don?t wander too far off Fields St). I?ve lived more than 5 violence free years in Pattaya. (although I did once get slyly pickpocketed on a baht taxi ? partly my own stupid fault!)

 

Tip for both Angeles and Pattaya gogo bar owners: Get the girls to circulate after ?every? song ? shuffle up at least 2 places (Paris and maybe a few others do it in Pattaya). It?s boring when you?re stuck at the stage staring at the same body. On some of the Angeles crowded stages, I couldn?t see the faces of some of the girls for their entire 20 minute stint without standing up and walking around to the other side of the stage. To the credit of Lancelot and a couple of other bars, they do shuffle the girls, AND I like the idea of the finale circling of the stage by the girls before the next shift comes on, just in case you missed someone you might fancy buying an LD for.

 

 

Misc tips:

Buy the mamasan a drink. She?ll let you now who are the cherries, and who does what! :hubba:

Google jimmyregina for more Angeles info.

If you?re flying Philippine Airlines, make sure your taxi drops you off at the correct Terminal! It?s at least 2 km and another taxi ride further away.

Shop around at the money changers. Many farangs swear by Nora?s off on a side street from Fields, but I got a much better rate elsewhere. Maybe Nora is still trading on a past reputation.

Best value for money hotel is Royal Amsterdam ? newer sumptuous $16, $23, $35 rooms. I stayed at Orchid Inn $25 (on net, $29 off the street) ? some rooms in older wing (mine and my mate?s) cockroach infested and desperately need makeover. Phones stuffed, water pressure erratic, and minibar and bathroom more like a mini supermarket stuffed with grossly over priced items which they hope your tilaks will help themselves to. Take everything out of bar and bathroom on the day you check in, and put it in a bag out of sight till you check out. Stock your fridge with your own drinks and nibbles. However, the Orchid pool is a bonus ? your gf will love it. Poolside service friendly but slow, music too loud, and food overpriced.

The cheapest flights BKK>Philippines>BKK is AirAsia to Macau, and Tiger Airways Macau to Clark Base (approx 9300 baht incl taxes as opposed to 12,000 baht with Philippines Airlines) You may (or may not depending on flight times) have to spend a night in the interesting city and casinos of Macau, but that compensates for the expense of a 2 hr taxi ride MNL to Angeles)

If you?re a rum, brandy or gin drinker, don?t bother with duty free at BKK airport. One litre Gilbeys Gin 155 pesos (119 baht!) in the Angeles supermarkets.

 

Pricewise there?s not much in it. A rough tally based on 8 beers, 4 LDs per night, barfine, hotel and meals made Angeles about 90 baht per day cheaper. Gogo dancers cheaper in Angeles; hotels and food cheaper in Pattaya. On the whole I still prefer Pattaya, where there is a bigger, safer scene with far more bars and a better, cleaner infrastructure of facilities ? not to mention the pleasant sea breeze. But I certainly enjoyed my busman?s holiday to Angeles and like Gen. MacArthur ?I shall return.?. Rumour - AirAsia to start operating cheap flights Utapao to Clark ? what a winning visa run that would be!

 

I reckon if someone opened an Angeles style fun loving girls line dancing bar in Pattaya, and a Pattaya style bar (with stark bollock showtimes) in Angeles (if the police would allow it), they?d both be successful.

 

[pe7e]

Great report, thanks, I must go take a look when circumstances allow.

[greedisgood]

 

Thanks R.,

 

Great report. Trying to talk a few of the boys, PTTY residents, to go to the Phils in Nov. for the annual Phi-Am Golf Tourney. Largest amateur golf event worldwide held yearly. This should help !

[colorwolf]

Thanx excellent report

Haven't been to Phils in a long time...time to take another look...

AirAsia flies to Clark from Kuala Lumpur...with stop in Kota Kinabalu? They also fly bkk to kinabalu...so may be able to combine...

btw...did you happen to rent a motorbike there? if that's possible would be nice way to tour the region...as not much to do in angeles in daytime...

[robaus]

I investigated the AirAsia via KL and KK routes, both about same as Philippines Airlines direct after you add in all the separate taxes for the AA one way flights. The route via Macau worked out cheapest.

 

I visited Borneo a few months ago - can highly recommend ascent of Mt Kinabalu if you're fit enough, and caves in Mulu National Park in Sarawak are a wonder of the world.

 

Saw many farangs with motorbikes in Angeles, but personally I relied on walking since it's such a small entertainment area, so I don't know hire fees etc.

 

[BB747]

Good accurate report. I stayed in AC 4 weeks. Can say same same but different as you have pointed out.

 

1st beer of the day is 12 noon. but you can drink until 5am.

 

Hope someday to see what you can do with Manila and Bangkok.

[Julian2]

Robaus, that was brilliant mate, Haven't been back for two years now but your report really gave me the urge, especially now rip off city, Manila, can be bypassed. I hear that the thugs that run the Manila airport cab service have doubled the fare to Angeles. Any truth in that?

You're spot on about buying the Mama Sans a drink and right about cherry girls. I knew one, and she was a nice kid too, who kept it for 2 years in the bars then gave it away. Never tried to hide it to rip people off but used to get plenty of BFs from guys who liked to take a group of girls barhopping.

[Julian2]

Robaus, I sent your post off to one of the Angeles websites and suddenly realised that the polite thing would have been to ask first. Sorry for that, my only desire was to share the great info with fellow travellers.

[robaus]

No worries, mate. We're all on this board to help each other to avoid the scams and achieve max sanuk.

 

The hotel arranged the airport pickup with a comfortable ac minivan - 2600 pesos.

 

[Torneyboy]

Great report